Celebrities, healthcare and worked since the taliban had taken over in august 2021. This is about an hour and ten minutes. Good afternoon, everyone. I am an associate for the middle is broken here at the Wilson Center. I please welcome you to todays fifth annual forum for a discussion on womens rights in afghanistan. To introduce todays speaker im pleased to welcome ambassador mark green, director, presidency of the Wilson Center. Great. Thanks. Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon and welcome to this marvelous for. Im grateful that even though i couldnt be at the center today, Technology Still makes i it possible to join you. Not only is she known around the world for her important writing underinvestment in a she holds a very special place in the hearts of all of us are at the Wilson Center. She is a founding director of our middle is program and she led the team from 19982015. This series on significant voting womens empowerment, womens rights globally but particularly in the middle east region. Former secretary of state Madeleine Albright and agra the series in 2017 pics of sin its featured senator chris vand hollen, undersecretary general and executive secretary of the u. N. And social commission for the western hemisphere, and a vassar. The executive director of the george that the Georgetown Institute for womens peace and security right in washington, d. C. Washington, d. C. The Wilson Center is a unique institution in Foreign Policy with congressionally chartered, scholarship driven and fiercely nonpartisan and independent. That special status brings with it certain obligations, to not to forgive others are doing but instead to prioritize the most important issues and opportunities and to try to do so in ways we can add value and make a difference. This years topic, advocacy for afghan womens rights on the global stage, is critical to our work here inin the center and to the policy committee at large and is very much something that is among those importantnt priorities that we have to we would represent a powerful locus of change, whether at the helm and can become a suicide or the private sector, women play a Critical Role in preventing conflict come of buildingpr pea, and sustainingpr prosperity. The situation of gender discrimination in afghanistan is abysmal. And its worsening by the day as a taliban further restricts womens ability to work, trav, access basic healthcare services. Moreover, millions of afghans are facing food and water insecurity, and the risk of disease. With women and girls bearing the brunt of these effects. What can be done to alleviate their plight . How can the International Committee upholdw womens right . To discuss these questions and more im delighted to introduce our speaker and a longtime friend, ambassador Paula Dobriansky pitches to a senior fellow at Harvard UniversityBelfer Center and, of course, for undersecretary of state for Global Affairs during the bush administration. She is the founding chair of the u. S. Afghan Womens Council, an organization aiming to reach out to afghan women and provide an opportunity for them to advance their priorities, including education, health, Economic Empowerment and rule of law. During our time in government she supported the creation of the American University of afghanistan which gave countless girls and women the chance to receive an education, high school and university level. Ambassador dobriansky helped usher in an increase in afghan Women Leaders in Civil Society, the Public Sector and in business. In short, she helpedus to provie hope to afghan women. Thank you for your leadership on these critical efforts, paula. It is great to see you, even if it is to a zoom screen. And now without further ado i turned the floor over to marissa, director of our middle is program. Over to you. Thank you. Thank you, ambassador green. Thank you much, ambassador green and, of course, thank you also for all the support you lend to the mill is broken particularly our middle is womens initiative. Ambassador francie, welcome once again at about two also welcome our online audience. And remind them before we kick off this conversation that you also have the opportunity to live, its a questions and we will be collecting for the q a session. So lets start a conversation as ambassador in mentioned this is a critical topic. Its a longer in the headlines. Theres a lot going on around the world, particularly in the middle east and north africa region. But we really want to shed light on whats happening in afghanistan because since the taliban takeover almost two and half years ago now, we have seen the rights of afghan girls and women regress. So many restrictions and limitations on their movement and their present in the public sphere. Youve done so much work as ambassador we mentioned to ensure that the equal access to education. So where are we today, and how does this bode for the future of the country. As well, first, merissa, fa i do want to thank ambassador green, mark green and do want to thank you and the Wilson Center for inviting me pick in fact, when i received the infestation and he said its the Haleh Esfandiari forum, i said when can i be signed up . Privilege and an honor to be part of this forum. And if i may pay tribute to you, because you are someone who has stood so staunchly for the rights of all, but not only for the all but women also in particular. Iranian women, afghan women, others who have been repressed across the globe. So may i take a moment . I would like to first applaud you. [applause] just thank you because ambassador green mentioned in his words in his opening hope. And hope, those role models who have paved thed way and had courage in standing up to tyranny and oppression, its so important and you certainly are one of those individuals. So thank you for all youve done. Merissa, to answer your question, tragically, the situation is very bad. There have been very draconian measures, abusive measures taken against afghan women. And instead of witnessing any kind of improvement, its the opposite. I mean to say a few words about whats going on, and a few other recentce reports also. In terms of education, thinking that were afghan women were before in terms of the level of wellbeing on, you know, one through k and then also high school and then university. Now girls only can attend school up to age 12. All are repressed and cannot Council Education is severely cut and denied. I want to mention that. Very synthetically there have been reports of arbitrary detention and arrests. A lot of them are founded on the socalled, well, how the hijab him whether its appropriate on or not on an individual. That is why use the word arbitrary arrest and detention because have been many young women and even age 16 who then pulled aside and beaten and detained and threatened because of socalled they were not wearing their hijab properly. Thirdly, its very striking in terms of healthcare. If you are married and you have a male accompany you, you might very well make it to a healthcare facility. But on the other hand, if you are unmarried and there have been a number of reports that you are very much subjected to again arbitrary detention and great brutality. And you may never make it actually to a healthcare facility. In that sector as well we have witnessed what is been cast as Mental Health issues. This brings up also about women, women in the workforce. Because those that have to really be confined at home and they cant get out into the outside at all, so there have been very substantial number of cases of Mental Health issues because of being unfairly confined and not having any exposure really to the outside world, in life. And in that sense thats very, very serious and quite detrimental. And by the way think about it. Its very detrimental to actually the future of afghanistan, because the workforce you cant only have as we know man. In fact, there was i believe and arab, you and arab report that basically talked about the middle east. It talked about any country that deprived half of its citizenry from the integrate in the workforce would not survive. That the economy would not be able to flourish. We witnessed the egregious impact here not only on women in afghanistan but also the economy. It is a. Gender apartheid, thatt is being passed as per my lee just also in this regard mention, a report to talk about the unmarried women, to talk about the cases of Mental Health cases, and did talk about also the kind of draconian repressive veryres that have been widespread and really impacting any kind of substantial growth before in terms of educational and educational ranks. So what does this forbode for the future of afghanistan . I would say that even right now, not very good. In terms of the wellbeing of citizens at large, in terms of a desire to be part of an economy. By the way. I should mention, when they were reporting on, are there any sectors where women surface . The one sector is a little bit in the economy but it is qualified. Women can actually engaged in businesses but from their homes in terms of embroidery, in terms of any kind of contribution that may be a small, if you will, cast as self generated business, sewing, embroidery, things like that. And might be contributing a bit to the economy. As far as ngo involvement, the record shows no, that theres repression and actual no, you cannot be engaged. In terms of some humanitarian efforts, yes to some extent and a little bit where women are also working in Healthcare Facilities but yet the irony that others cannot even make it to Healthcare Facilities and have access. So what does it forbode come to let me answer that question . As i said not, its that good, its that good for the health of society. Its not good for the economic growth, and by the way, in terms of what the taliban itself said and professed at the very outset, it really flies totally against some of the statements they made about trying to be more open, more integrative. We havent witnessed that at all. Its been the opposite. Not good. As you also mention, this is that already definedr as gender apartheid. One of our afghan photos actually wrote a piece about that. I think he is with us here today. But were talking more and more about this, who were at the helm at various levels of government you were also with uris afghan Womens Council to ensure that women are not only protected but also have equal access to education, the workforce. We see a lots. Of role models, although the course had to be evacuated. So there has been so much progress, right, before the withdrawal of u. S. Troops how can the United States and other allies who invested so much in these efforts ensure that these programs continue with all these restrictions in place . This is an important question under really relish your ask me that question. You have to give me a moment. My answer will be a a little t longer on this one because i really want to give a full and robustit answer. Its a key one. First, a word about the use afghan Womens Council. It was born at the outset of thinking about the seizure of, are seizure of wishart receipt wishart of receipt. All witnessed seeing definitely on tv women in burqas, what the record was during the previous period of the taliban, and then with him if you will, a liberation. And the opportunity for growth in afghanistan. From that standpoint use afghan Womens Council was born at that time, and to me you mentioned it but it want to underscore it. Afghan women were very decisive. They for this council said we know what we want. We want education, number one, is the issue. Work with us on growing that access to education for young boys, but especially for young girls and at all levels, not just a younger level. Secondly, the issue of healthcare because the Maternal Mortality rate was so high. And here there was tremendous progress in that area. Third was entrepreneurship. I remember my first visit to afghanistan, and actually we only met a few women who actually were in mazaresharif, and actuallyy were starting this micro lending. The second visit i made there we met with over 100 women at embassy who came in. They had all kinds of businesses. It showed if given the opportunity women will seize it and they will go for it, and it did indeed. And it also there was the issue of im going to put in its Civil Society but its governance, rule of law. I was shown a picture of women judges. There were many women were women judges before. And women wanted to be back into law. They wanted to be in the parliament. They wanted to have a stake in the future and decisionmaking of afghanistan. So that was the fourth. Later also came a working collaboration by used by the way as part of this. The u. S. Afghan council was very focused on that. Its been very engaged, so one. I want to say why an organization like that matters. It matters because it brings together a lot of organizations both threatun the united , abroad, and even some that are still working internally in afghanistan, as best as they can. In this sense i do want to recognize debbie hall and who is ebover there, if you just raise your hand. She is executive director from u. S. Afghan Womens Council is at georgetown university, our honorary chairs are former first ladies laura bush and hillary clinton. And then we have the president of church and University Jack to joy. We also have fills mark rebbe was also a type if you will arm to arm with jack, and also we have inn the state department which is important, the International Womens office, to make sure who by the way is also a cochair. All important and a reference that because that actually keeps the very focused on programs. What are we doing, hack we move things forward . Its the only home but abroad. Second, there are some official positions that are absolutely key. One is in the state department in addition to the ambassador and head of the International Womens office there is a special representative whois data with afghanistan completely, completely. This is rima. Many of you know her. She was in doha with us. Very important position. She kept on working with afghans, shes working with americans, working with others and shes also in the middle east, also pounding the pavement. She was her at the doha forum trying to bring this issue forward. I also want to recognize and mention the u. N. , u. N. Secretary general also appointed a woman who i knew years ago who was foreign minister of uzbekistan, rosa, who is the representative, and she, too, she just spoke in a very targeted weight about the statement and Mental Health and how we should be tackling it. Why are these people important . I because they try to do the best in keeping the nation spotlight. And as you pointed out its hard. But now let me, why ask for the extra time. I actually brought a list. You cant imagine how many are still working in afghanistan. I want to share this. I mention that our u. S. Afghan women councilmembers. I well, one woman runs a made by afghan women. Very inspirational. Its hard, but the work within the confines here. Cant harbor also embroidery. Doctor some of the many women know. She is a fair. She wasas the hospital that, by the way, does have approval and it is d run by women. Its very helpful. She has the Afghan Institute of learning fund. Enlighten a mind. All of these deal with education, health the eagle on the calendar i wouldnt want you all to resist because theres a lot of activity going on and it doesnt always get the credit it should and their work ethic is greatrk barriers. Uplift afghan fund, the foundation. I know here in d. C. Many of us know it. They focus on youth in particular, the next generation. Turquoise mountain has been there. I had the privilege of going when he went to afghanistan years ago, watching the handicraft, bringing back the beauty of afghan culture. It was amazing to us. Leslie schweizer who runs the friends of the American University afghanistan, and she pounced with a bit and does go to afghanistan. Eating with doha because the university had to transfer to doha qatari but she pounced the baby, keeps it forward pounds the pavement, all user inside afghanistan. The reason i want to mention and i will stop, that working in the u. S. What to mention the bush center. George w. Bush and also mrs. Bush and to the bush center in dallas, texas, had really focus very heavily on this issue. And paula, this is especially for you. You know with the established . They established an afghan iranian women coalition. Theyre going to, and to try to connect in country and out of country both. Why is it important . Because they feel both of which should unite the women, the day asprs in both cases and those inside should unite and be very strong in putting forward ideas, recommendations, and really getting notoriety for what theyre trying to achieve for women. They are to be having a big launch here in washington in may on this issue, and a very excited about that initiative. I also might mention that the u. S. Afghan Womens Council also has almost anc launch on this University Educational network of afghanet women. And networks and online can be very, very helpful. Theres also of course the george Kent Institute for womens peace and security. Youve had them here and there doing phenomenal work and then the women